The Golden Age

The countdown nears an end, here is the number two story of 2012

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Kirksville Daily Express - Kirksville, MO

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Posted Dec. 29, 2012 at 8:00 AM

Posted Dec. 29, 2012 at 8:00 AM

Another title

Kirksville's wrestling team cemented its place among Missouri's programs to watch in 2012, capturing their second state wrestling championship in four seasons. In 2009, with a group of promising freshmen comprising much of the lineup, the Tigers walked out of Mizzou Arena with Kirksville's first state title in any sport in more than a decade. The wait for the next one wasn't nearly as long, thanks to that same group of freshmen, who now were seniors seeking their last high school hurrah. The Kirksville wrestling team won't be forgotten by anyone talking about the top programs in the state.

A show of force

The Tigers sent 11 wrestlers (Chris Hooper, Austin Roper, Justin VanHoose, Jesse Griffel, Travis Lang, Logan Summers, Ethan Rentschler, Matt Kelly, Branden Beeler Ivan McVay and Makenna Cook) to Mizzou Arena in Columbia, and by the eve of the final day were sitting in a commanding position atop the standings with six wrestlers still in contention for various medals.

By the time it was over the following day, all six of those wrestlers had won a medal and the Tigers had captured the championship with 152.5 team points, a staggering 41.5 points ahead of second place Oak Grove.

And then there were the golden boys Austin Roper, at 132 pounds, pinned Savannah's Nathan Hogue in just over a minute. At 182 pounds, Lang pinned Bolivar's Aaron Allen in 3:01. And at 138, VanHoose pinned Monett's Cristobal Renteria in 4:26. For that trio it was their third, third and fourth individual state titles, respectively.

For their team, it was the second championship, its place in history assured.